Thursday, July 16, 2015

It's been so long since I last posted. Just when I thought that the months of June and July were a total loss in regards to stitching and crafting, I went back and reviewed the photos left on my camera. There seems to be quite a good selection here. A little bit of sewing. a little bit of cross stitch, a little bit of doll clothes.This all intermixed with my usual numerous photos of the cats.

But the lovely kitties will have to wait until next time.

First up is a christening gown that I made for the neighbor's baby. She wanted something very masculine even though she had chosen to use a traditional gown. The main fabric is a men's shirting material of white cotton with a very thin white pinstripe in it. The cummerbund and the hem are satin.

I also cross-stitched a little Initial Pillow with the Christening date to display with the gown.

Next up is a long awaited doll dress. I've been looking at ideas and fiddling through fabrics and basically procrastinating for several months. I always get so many ideas for doll costumes off of BBC dramas. Downton Abbey, Mr. Selfridge, The Paradise, Poldark, Upstairs Downstairs, and my new favorite, The Crimson Field.

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This is an 1860 Day Dress made of a light weight black cotton with white embroidery on it. It has pagoda sleeves, lace gloves and a hoop under the skirt.

I found a super selection of black and gold fabrics at Wal-Mart, of all places. Black and gold is kind of an obsession with me. Those are my high school colors, and now they are my niece's high school colors.(She's the one on the right)

She graduates next June and these fabrics will be made into some banners for her graduation party. The idea photo is from Pinterest. The lower photo is of the fabrics

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Then there are the famous (infamous) brown satin chair covers! This project is for a parent of one of my gymnasts. She had four rather oddly shaped old kitchen chairs. She wanted them covered in her color scheme of choice. Little did I know that the fabric she would choose was a glittery brown satin. She realize that the bolt was rolled backwards and she actually wanted to use the inside part of the fabric, which was the part without the glitter. To make a long project short, 6 chairs later this assignment is finally done.

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And now for the cross-stitch........Summer is usually a big time for cross-stitching, but the days (weeks, months!) have just slipped away. I did get to an item that I have been thinking about/designing in my head for quite a while. Mail Art! I entered a mail art contest a few years ago and I loved the whole process. Much like the doll dress project, I fiddled around for the longest time...consulting Pinterest, going through the fabric/thread/chart stash. I chose Mon Ami Pierre motifs and some fabric I had dyed myself. The thread was a clearance item at Hobby Lobby.

Eventually the envelope will go to my friend Martina in Germany.
Now, what to fill it with.................

The project I am working on now is Moon Dance by Kathy Barrick. I have an on-going love affair with peacocks and this design was an irresistible must-have. It has spent a few months in the project bag but has made a reappearance. The stitching is going quickly and I love the colors. This one should be completed over the weekend. ﻿

Speaking on weekends, I am looking forward to this one. It seems that I have spent the last few months subbing for everyone else at work while they are away on vacation. Last night infact, I was assigned to play not only myself, but the role of THREE other coaches. If only there was THREE TIMES THE $$$ to go along with that...

As I near the 51 year mark I know I must modify my attitude, accept things as they come and be less of a Negative Nancy. I try to temper it all with a good sense of humor, but I know I've become down-right grouchy lately. There is such joy to be had and I know I've spent too much time lamenting the past and agonizing over the future.